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RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s will auction a rare fancy vivid blue diamond from the Cullinan Mine at its upcoming Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale in May. The 7.03-carat diamond was cut from a 26.58-carat rough stone mined by Petra Diamonds at Cullinan in South Africa. The diamond has been graded, by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), as fancy vivid blue and internally flawless. Sotheby's presale estimate for the diamond is between $5.8 million and $8.5 million.
The diamond is the centerpiece of Sotheby’s sale, which will take place at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva on May 12, 2009, Sotheby’s and Petra reported in a joint statement. The auction house plans to exhibit the diamond in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and London ahead of the sale.
“This stone certainly ranks among the most important blue diamonds that I have had the privilege of offering for sale in my career at Sotheby’s, and what makes it particularly special for us is that we’ve been able to follow its production from the initial rough state through the various stages of its cutting and polishing,” said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s international jewelry department for Europe and the Middle East. Blue diamonds get their distinctive color from the presence of the chemical element boron during the diamond’s formation, and are among the rarest of all gems.
NC
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